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The ultimate goal of your palm card layout and design is to deliver a candidate image and message that is clear and consistent to voters. Also called push cards, palm cards are an effective form of campaign advertisement. You should communicate your main talking points as well as background, education and such other relevant information all while being visually appealing to your desired demographic.

Designing a campaign palm card consists of several facets. First is the use of color. When ordering your push cards, remember to use the colors that are specific to your campaign. Red, white and blue are traditionally the most popular colors among political hopefuls, but if you have a pre-existing color scheme use those colors.

This leads us into our second design point; be consistent. Do not change your color scheme or election slogan halfway through the campaign. It is important to be consistent with all of your campaign materials in regards to color, font and style of design. When building a campaign image, or brand if you will, uniformity is key to accomplishing this successfully.

Third, choose palettes of colors that are complementary to each other. In the age of digital printing, voters expect to see full color printing, and an appealing palm card. Be creative with your color choices. Also make the text, especially your name, easy to read. Your name should be the first thing that the voter sees in respect to your push card. The font you select should be clear and large. Gothic and fancy script-type fonts should be avoided due to their lack of clarity.

The fourth facet of designing your campaign palm card is presenting your message. Make sure your message is clear and simple. Don’t confuse your voters by throwing legal jargon or complex phrases at them. Use simple words and concise sentences to get your point across. There should be a natural flow of information that is easy to follow. Remember, if the voter does not read your message, you have wasted your time and money.

Pictures are an essential staple to have on your palm card. It is important to have a headshot of the front on your palm card so your voter can put a face with a name. For local offices, this may be the only time the voter sees you. You might also include a nice family photo on your palm card under the family section. If available, include some action shots of the candidate in the community. Choose the best quality pictures available. Most printers will not accept anything less than 300 dpi at print size (4″ x 6″). If you are unsure about the terminology used here, your photographer or printer should be able to help you. Remember, a picture is worth 1000 words!

There are many layout and design options available when designing your push card, but you must take your quantity of information into account when deciding which layout works best for you.